


Before Succumbing

by Lady_S



Category: Supernatural, The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: (it's pretty tame though there's nothing sexual), (nothing graphic) - Freeform, Alpha John Winchester, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Don't copy to another site, M/M, OFC is a baby, Omega Carl Grimes, Omegaverse, The Author Regrets Nothing, and some team free will as well, gift for roma!! see author's notes, grimechester, it's mostly fluff with sprinkles of angst, mentions of other characters both SPN and TWD, there's some grimes family 2.0 in here, this is in TWDverse, vague mentions of mpreg
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-28
Updated: 2018-12-28
Packaged: 2019-09-29 02:36:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,236
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17194886
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_S/pseuds/Lady_S
Summary: Once Carl had nuzzled his parents goodnight, and watched them walk down the hall to their bedroom, he immediately turned to his attention to John. Still shivering from the winter weather outside, he burrowed his head into John’s chest.John returned the embrace, and stroked his hands on Carl’s back in an attempt to warm him up. “How was your trip?” he asked, keeping his voice low.“It was nice.” Carl titled his chin up so he could look at John eye-to-eye, “And we got a lot of good stuff.”“Yeah?” The alpha spoke with a small smile before watching his mate mirror it.“Yeah.”





	Before Succumbing

**Author's Note:**

  * For [teacupofhoney](https://archiveofourown.org/users/teacupofhoney/gifts).



> Hey guys! I made more grimechester!! This one is (really late) birthday/Yule gift for Roma (@lovelyandbroken on tumblr)! She requested grimechester + domesticity, and I did my best to deliver! Happy birthday and Happy Yule, Roma! I hope you enjoy!
> 
> I'd love to talk! Come visit me @grimechester on tumblr!
> 
> In this fic, Carl is 20-21.

By the time Carl got home, he was already four hours late.

 

He was fine, of course; tired and cold, but fine. He had gone on an extended run with Rick and Michonne about three days ago, as per his own request, to explore areas of the state that the original Alexandrians hadn’t already. They brought a truck, and stocked it full of canned goods, toiletries, some clothes, and even a set of kitchen knives they scavenged. It was cramped sleeping in the front seat, but he had missed spending time with his parents so much that he couldn’t be bothered to care.

 

Though all three of them had a lot of fun, by the third morning, he was ready to go home. He wouldn't say he was getting soft after living behind the walls for almost six years, but he was definitely still unaccustomed to the Virginian winter; he never remembered it getting anywhere  _ near _ this cold back in Georgia.

 

The truer reason he was anxious to get back to Alexandria, however, was to return to the rest of his family. Back home, his mate, John, and their pup were waiting on him, with longing and worry that Carl could feel through his matebond. He missed both his alpha and his baby as much as they missed him, and not only had he daydreamed about being wrapped up in John’s arms, but also wondered if Gretchen’s year-old mind sensed her mother’s absence. 

 

The trio did not come back until sometime around ten at night. When they swung open the front door and ran in from the freezing snow outside, Carl announced it to be a successful mission, and that they would unload the truck the next day, when the whether was expected to be sunnier.

 

“Why can’t we just bring the stuff into the garage?” Rick asked as he hung his coat next to the door.

 

“The Impala’s in there, remember?” the omega answered, “Dean’d turn into a walker if we tried to move his car.”

 

Once Carl had nuzzled his parents goodnight, and watched them walk down the hall to their bedroom, he immediately turned to his attention to John. Still shivering from the winter weather outside, he burrowed his head into John’s chest.

 

John returned the embrace, and stroked his hands on Carl’s back in an attempt to warm him up. “How was your trip?” he asked, keeping his voice low.

 

“It was nice.” Carl titled his chin up so he could look at John eye-to-eye, “And we got a lot of good stuff.”

  
“Yeah?” The alpha spoke with a small smile before watching his mate mirror it.

  
  
“Yeah.” 

 

Carl paused for a second, closing his eye to listen to John’s heartbeat. The sound was soothing and reassuring, causing his mind and muscles to relax. Taking a deep breath, he vaguely realized how tired he was becoming.

 

“How’s Gretchen?” he asked after a moment. Next to his ear, he felt John laugh.

 

“Fussy.” he answered, “I don’t know how many times I tried to put her down for a nap.”

 

“She must a Winchester. All us Grimeses were good pups.”

 

John pulled away from Carl, grinning at his mate’s cheekiness. “Oh, I’m sure. Now, let’s go upstairs and get you out of those wet clothes.”

 

“And into bed.” Carl added, gripping onto the railing as he walked up the steps.

 

Once at the top, he looked to the first door on the left, and noticed a soft light streaming from under it, but heard no sound coming from the other side. It wasn’t like Sam, Cas, or even Dean to leave the light on in their room after they had gone to bed, so Carl turned to look over his shoulder at his mate with raised brow.

 

“They’ve got some stuff to talk about,” John whispered, before reaching his hand to press onto the small of the omega’s back, “We’ll see them in the morning, okay?”

 

Carl nodded in understanding before opening the door on the opposite side of the hall. He twisted the knob as slowly and silently as possible, then stepped in with the same caution. Continuing to walk quietly, he passed the bed altogether, creeping up to the crib by the wall, and peering inside.

 

When he looked down, he let out a fake gasp of surprise, and grinned at the baby. Gretchen had her hand in her mouth, but looked up at her mother with her brown eyes completely alert.

 

“You’re supposed to be asleep!” he half-whispered, watching her as she flailed her other arm. She was only a little older than ten months old, but she was already starting to look like her father’s side of the family, which disappointed Rick slightly, who was hoping she’d inherit his and Carl’s blue eyes. And Judith’s, too, now that he thought about it.

 

Moving back from the crib for a moment, Carl yawned, and began to unbutton his shirt. On instinct, he turned away from where John was sitting on the bed. “How was Judy?”

 

“Well behaved, as usual.” John spoke, “Cas and Sasha took her outside to play in the snow yesterday.”

 

Carl smiled at the image, taking off his undershirt. “She have fun?” he asked over his shoulder.

 

“She seemed like she did. Need a towel?”

  
  
“Oh, yeah. Thanks.”

 

While John did that, the omega went ahead and removed his jeans, too, remembering how heavy denim was when wet. Though his skin was barely damp, he still had goosebumps all over, and shivered a little harder. When he heard footsteps behind him, he reached his arm for John to pass the towel without turning to face him.

 

Instead, he was surprised by his alpha wrapping arms around his waist, and speaking into his ear, “Feelin’ shy today?”

 

Carl let out a sigh, taking the towel from John and throwing it on his head to dry his hair, accidently slapping the alpha in the face as well. He knew exactly where John was going with this, and he was  _ not  _ in the mood to discuss it. He knew he meant well, as anyone would if their mate was facing internal shame about their body, and out of respect for Carl, he hadn’t pushed the topic of the scars for almost a year, but now was simply  _ not  _ the time.

 

“John, I’m really tired. Can we talk about it later?”

 

The hands around his middle were hesitant to move at first, as if they knew they should let go but didn’t want to. They eventually retreated.

 

“I’m sorry.” John apologized, and the omega could tell from their bond that he meant it, “I just-”

 

“Babe, it’s okay.” Carl interrupted, “I’m not mad, I promise. Just tired.”

 

The alpha nodded in understanding, and lingered next to Carl for few moments, shoulders slumped slightly in dejection. As John walked away to sit on the bed, Carl felt a stab of guilt, and wondered if he was too harsh. Opening one of his dresser drawers, he hurriedly conjured a way to return John’s spirits. Luckily, he knew the best tactic to get his mate talking - ask him about his pups.

 

“So,” Carl began, choosing a t-shirt from the drawers, “besides Cas playing with Sasha and Judith, what else did the boys do?”

 

“Hmm.” Though the omega couldn’t see him, he assumed John was taking a moment to think, “Sam had shifts on the wall this week. I only saw him at dinner.”

 

“He seem okay?” Carl asked.

 

“Mmmhmm.”

 

“Good.” The younger pulled out a pair of pants made of softer cloth, “What about Dean?”

 

John paused. “Well, Dean fed Gretchen.”

 

“Oh, yeah? How’d that go?”

 

“The two of them managed to make more mess than food.”

 

Carl grinned, “Judith was never this hard to take care of.”

 

“Yes, yes,” John sighed with obvious playfulness, “Judy is your perfect angel.”

  
  
The omega laughed a little, and now that he was dry and had changed into pajamas, returned his attention to the crib. He took a moment to gaze upon his daughter, who was still watching him with wide eyes. He reached down, and carefully ran the back of his knuckles over her dark hair without applying any pressure, and continued to observe her movements. She cooed when he first touched her, as if acknowledging the affection. Then, he leaned over as far as he could over the railing, and kissed her forehead.

 

“No,” he replied to John, voice low as he hovered over Gretchen’s crib, “they both are.”

 

If there was any implication in that response that was shocking to John, he didn’t make a comment. Instead, he waited in silence for Carl to join him. Eventually, after tucking an extra blanket around Gretchen, the omega did just that, stepping away from the crib and towards the bed, and laying down under the covers. He rested his head on the pillow, and let out all the air in his lungs in an exhausted sigh.

 

“Worn out?” John asked.

 

“Pretty much.” Carl pulled the covers up a little more, hoping to fight the chill that still hung in the air, “We spent three days scavenging nonstop.”

 

The alpha nodding in understanding. “So, you enjoyed it?”

 

Carl let out a chipper  _ hum _ of confirmation before elaborating: “The best part was spending time with Mom and Dad. It hasn’t been just the three of us in a while.”

 

“Did they enjoy it?”

 

“Expect for the cold, yeah.”

 

“You call this cold?” John scoffed slightly, also choosing to get under the dark blue comforter, “None of y’all would last a day in South Dakota.”

 

Carl frowned for a split second, realizing that it had been so long since he laid eyes on a map of the United States that he couldn’t remember where exactly South Dakota was. However, instead of bringing this to John’s attention, he just tilted his head in a challenge. “Oh really?”   
  
“Yeah, really. Back when me and boys visited Bobby, we’d freeze. They get lightning storms up there, too.”

 

“Oh, lightning is the last thing we need.” The omega let his arm fall onto the blanket, making a muffled  _ thud _ . “It’s cold enough outside, I don’t need to be worrying about getting electrocuted.”

 

John couldn’t help but grin, “Yeah, especially being in a town surrounded by metal.”

 

“Speaking of the wall,” Carl shifted the conversation back to a topic that had peaked his interest, “you said Sam took shifts this week, right?”

 

“Mmmhmm.”

 

“How’s he liking it?”

 

“Not sure. Like I said, I haven’t seen him much.” A beat. “Why do you ask?”

 

Carl sat up on his elbow, showing his newfound enthusiasm, “I’m not supposed to tell you this yet, but whatever, you can keep a secret: on our trip, we found a mall that’s still intact. There’s some walkers in the parking lot but outside of that, it’s untouched.” The alpha’s eyebrows lifted in interest as he continued, “Mom and Dad want to clear it out before something or someone gets to it first.”

 

“‘Someone’ meaning the Hilltop or the Kingdom, I take it?”

 

“Yeah, I know.” He fell back onto the bed again, voice reflecting a level of disappointment, “I feel kinda bad for keeping it from them, but we’re running out of guns and ammo to trade for food.”

 

When there was a pause, John apologized, and asked him to continue.

 

“Oh, my point was, I remember Sam mentioning that a lot of his clothes were too tight, so I’m going to nominate him to go on the run team to find clothes that fit.” The omega paused, looking down at the blanket with a tad amount of bashfulness, “I mean, he doesn’t have to go if he doesn’t want to, I just thought..you know...” he lost the words for a moment, and fell quiet. He didn’t hear any verbal confirmation from his mate, so he met gazes again. “..Are you okay?”

 

At first, John simply had his attention on Carl, wordless, with a look in his eyes that Carl couldn’t quite place. After a few moments, the alpha eventually placed a hand on top of Carl’s own, which was resting on his abdomen, as he had a habit of doing. Taking the hand, Carl continued to looks slightly confused, until John finally spoke:

 

“Was that your first thought?”

  
  
“..Was what my first thought?”

 

“About Sammy’s clothes.”

 

Carl found it to be an odd question - when he and his parents found the mall, he remembered feeling a wave of excitement for certain, as it could easily be a goldmine for a variety of vital supplies that Alexandria needed. He couldn’t recall what he thought exactly. He had never been the type of person who automatically translated his thoughts into words in his mind, if that even made sense. However, it was starting to dawn on him that this was kind of a big deal for John, not only by his affectionate actions, but also the use of Sam’s  _ very _ exclusive nickname. He sensed he should answer his question with some sincerity.

 

“I’m not sure about ‘first,’ but it was high up there. Why?”

 

Carl felt the prickle of John’s beard on his fingers when the alpha brought his smaller hand up to be kissed. Now his confusion was creeping into concern.

 

“John. Don’t take this the wrong way, but why are you so emotionally compromised by the idea of Sam’s clothes?”

 

It wasn’t until the words were already out of his mouth before he realized that John’s eyes were misting. 

 

“Do you know what I would’ve given to have someone like you around when the boys were young?”

 

Carl felt self-conscious at the intensity in John’s eyes and the emotions in his words. Someone like  _ him? _

 

As if reading his thoughts, John continued: “After Mary passed..I..” he swallowed thickly, and Carl felt a knee-jerk reaction to tell him that he didn’t have to speak, but instead kept listening, “I was terrified to trust anyone for a long, long time. There was Bobby, Caleb, and Pastor Jim, but..I never felt comfortable leaving Sam and Dean with them for more than a few days at a time. I couldn’t ask them to protect children that weren’t theirs.

 

"But you- you have a pup who isn’t even a year old, a sister, a father, a mother, a whole mess of extended family or whatever you call it - and in all of that, you found a moment to think about Sam. He isn’t yours. He isn’t even a pup! He’s thirty-five!” John almost laughed at the idea, “But you think about him anyway. You think about both of my boys.” He paused, as if coming to a conclusion about something in his mind, “All three of my boys.”

 

Carl was stunned, and swallowed in attempts to gather his courage. He was lost as to what to say.

 

“Well, yeah,” he found his voice a few moments later, “they’re my..” There was a brief pause as the gears in his head turned. On one hand, his inner omega screamed that Sam, Dean, and Cas were his pups, no matter the age gap or lack of blood relation, as he had spent that past two years in close quarters with them, watching out for them, and generally feeling responsible for them; on the other, the three of them were adults who were allowed to set their own personal boundaries, and occasionally (or often, in the case of Dean) distanced themselves from Carl and made their intent clear. The conflicting opinions of his logical mind and emotional instincts made it difficult for him to pin down the correct term to use for them. In the second and a half he had to choose, he decided to play it safe: “..friends. Of course I think about them.”

 

“That’s just it!” John’s smile was genuine, and growing, “You  _ think _ about other people. You  _ care _ about them. And it doesn’t occur to you to be any other way. Carl, do you know how rare that kind of.. _ beauty _ is?”

 

For a split second, Carl felt his stomach drop. His mind flashed images of his past - of Randall, of Jody, of the man with the orange backpack - and though none of them kept him up at night, he knew for a fact he was never thinking about them, before or after they died.

 

“‘Beauty’ is a strong word, John.” he replied, feeling his hands sweat in the alpha’s larger ones, “But thank you.”

 

John leaned down, and planted a few kisses on Carl’s cheek. Carl closed his eye, relaxing into his mate’s affection, and humming contently. John gave Carl’s neck a nuzzle, before adding in a low voice:

 

“You’re also pretty damn gorgeous, too.”

 

Carl scoffed with obvious playfulness, “Oh, is  _ that _ what this has been about?”

 

The alpha laughed, before giving Carl a peck on the nose, “No, but I missed you.”

 

“I missed you, too. Now, am I gonna get to cuddle my big bear Winchester or what?”

 

“Oh, yes.” he replied, sitting up, “I’m sorry. Let me rearrange here.”

  
  
“Yeah, John,” Carl said, in a flat yet sarcastic tone, “I spent three days scavenging. I deserve it.”

 

“You’re right,” John angled a pillow, mirroring the omega’s tone, “I’m so sorry.”

 

Carl continued the impression, “John, I provide for this family. I am a  _ provider _ .”

 

The older man couldn’t help but laugh a bit too loudly at the joke, and it was infectious enough to make Carl laugh as well.

 

“Oh my God.” John tried to catch his breath, rubbing his eyes, “Where the hell did you hear  _ that _ shit?”

 

“Spencer.”

 

John groaned in disgust, laying back on the pillow he arranged. Carl took that as his cue, and made himself at home by resting his head on the alpha’s chest.

 

“I agree. Oh, I forgot to ask-”

 

“Hmm?”

 

“-did  _ you _ have fun?”

 

There was a short pause while he collected his thoughts. “I’d say so, yes,” John reached a hand to stroke Carl’s soft hair as he continued: “I liked spending time with everyone. Between Gretchen, Judith, Dean, and Cas, I wasn’t ever really alone. I also got to talk to Sasha, which was nice.”

 

“That’s good.” Carl murmured.

 

“We were all a little worried about you, though. Even Cas was asking when you three’d be back.”

 

Carl’s eyelid began to close without his permission. “Cas, huh?”

 

“Mmmhmm.”

 

“I sh’talk to ‘im more.” Carl mumbled.

 

“Do what now, baby?”

  
  
“I should talk to him more.” he repeated a little louder, still unable to open his eye.

 

“Oh. Yeah. He’d like that.”

 

There was a wonderful period of silence that followed. Carl felt his muscles fully unwind, and he found he was so comfortable laying on John’s chest, he thought his whole body might melt into the bed. His mate continued to stroke his hair, and along with the white noise of the wind outside and the snow softly tapping on the window, he was steadily soothed further and further.

 

At one point, his half-conscious mind thought he heard John speak again, and felt a kiss being pressed on the top of his head, but his jaw was far too lax to answer, and his eye might as well have been glued shut. Just before succumbing to the bliss of slumber, he promised himself that tomorrow, he’d respond to every word and repay every kiss tenfold.


End file.
